The trail begins in the village and immediately forgets about it.

This episode is the GR20 itself -- from the first brutal stage out of Calenzana to the descent into Conca two weeks later. The northern section in full: the granite world above two thousand meters, the Cirque de la Solitude diversion via the Bocca Minuta, the mouflon on the high cols, and what Vizzavona feels like after nine days on the high route. Then the south: the forests of laricio pine, the Aiguilles de Bavella in afternoon light, and what happens to the mind somewhere around day four or five when the trail stops being an ordeal and becomes something quieter.

You leave knowing: the defining stages of the northern and southern sections, what the Cirque de la Solitude diversion involves, where to encounter mouflon on the route, how to read the mountain weather, and what the GR20 is actually testing -- which is not what most people think.

Part two of two. Listen to episode four before this one.

In the Maquis -- stories from wild places that teach you something before you go.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a trail in Corsica that begins at the edge of a village and ends, one hundred and eighty kilometers later, at the door of another one.

The GR20 is consistently ranked among the most difficult long-distance trails in Europe. Every year roughly ten thousand people attempt it. Roughly half finish. This episode is everything that happens before Calenzana -- the fitness preparation most people underestimate, the gear decisions that actually matter (trail shoes versus boots, pack weight, sleeping system), how the refuge booking system works and when to book, water management on the high route, and the mental model that separates the people who finish from the people who don't.

You leave with: a realistic preparation timeline, a clear gear framework, an understanding of the refuge booking platform at pnr-resa.corsica, the north-to-south versus south-to-north question answered, and an honest account of what the trail will ask of you before it gives anything back.

Part one of two. Episode five covers the route itself, stage by stage.

In the Maquis -- stories from wild places that teach you something before you go.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The road narrows without warning. And the pig on the road has right of way.

Vanlife in Corsica means narrow mountain passes, long-horned cattle with no interest in moving, and the particular reward of being in a vehicle small enough to follow the tracks that lead to the quiet bays. This episode covers what moving through Corsica by van actually looks like -- the D81 coast road in afternoon light, the forest roads of the interior, and the rhythm of a summer day organised around heat and tide rather than a schedule. Plus the red kite circling above everything, and what it means to move through a place that has always resisted being rushed.

You leave knowing: the wild camping and bivouac rules in Corsica, how the van camping grey area actually works in practice, the best roads and regions for vanlife on the island, ferry booking reality, and why September changes everything.

In the Maquis -- stories from wild places that teach you something before you go.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.